Mom Shares That She's Afraid of Dying While Her Kids Are Young and Redditors Can Definitely Relate

Bringing new life into the world is an incredibly joyful experience, but it's also one that can raise questions about the end of life as well. Think about how many people go out and get life insurance policies only because they've just become parents! That existential crisis that arises at the beginning of your parenting journey can also serve to trigger fears around dying while your children are young. A mom on the Mommit subreddit recently opened up about experiencing exactly that, and it turns out plenty of Redditors could relate.

The original poster (OP), writing under the handle u/Seesaw-Appropriate, wrote that she's "afraid of dying" while her kids are young, adding, "Anyone else have this fear? Life, man."

u/skoobear could relate, noting that her mom died when she was 5 and her brothers were 10, 9, and 2. "We would have all been much better off if it wasn't a taboo subject in our family," explained the Redditor. "No therapy, all photos were put away, and we were discouraged to even discuss it. We didn't even know exactly how she died until we were adults."

Now that she's a mom herself, the u/skoobear said she's made it clear that if "anyone tries to sweep my existence under the rug 'for the sake of my kids,' I will come back and haunt them," noting, "I told my husband he had better keep my memory alive for the kids but to also find a good woman to love him and my babies."

u/boom_boom_bang_ shared that she's "terrified" and has a will and life insurance and has talked to her brother about being her child's guardian "in case something happens."

And u/ad02285 pointed out that this fear has spiked for them over the past year, writing, "My health anxiety has caused an anxiety level I never knew existed."

Another Redditor, writing under the handle u/antnicreddit, said that even though it's not a "terribly rational fear" for her, because her family "tends toward longer lives," but she got "really obsessive for a while" after her youngest was born. She said she and her husband are 36 and 37 respectively, and they've both started to take their health more seriously. "Physicals, working on our borderline high cholesterol and weight, quitting smoking, etc.," she wrote. "I know we can't prevent all of the possible outcomes, but doing what we can to ensure we make it as long as we possibly can has helped ease some of my anxiety about the subject."

Other commenters emphasized the importance of therapy for looking at what this fear is rooted in and working through it. As u/happypillsneeded remarked, "It helps a ton." And for the Redditor, knowing that she's not alone in feeling this way is sure to help as well.